When infusion kits are used in combination with an insulin pump it is necessary to use a tubular element of a certain length, since the distance between the insulin pump and the cannula housing will vary. This variation in the distance between pump and cannula occurs ia during the night when the pump sits on the nightstand. In that case the tubing may be used in its full length. When, during the daytime, the pump is arranged in the belt of the diabetic, the requisite tubing length will be shorter—but still variable, since the cannula may be inserted in different places in the body.
Therefore the problem of excessive tubing may occur that the user may find difficult to arrange/conceal. That means that when cannula housing is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the pump and the user simultaneously uses a long tubing of 110 cm, a worst case scenario will involve about 90 cm that are not “in use”.
It is desired to develop a winding device that is able to compensate for the above-described problem.
The winding device is typically located close to the skin—underneath the clothes. Optionally by means of a clip to the trouser waistband.
The winding device must not be able to cause failures of any kind in the supply of insulin; neither by damage to/deformation of tubing nor in any other way.
WO 96/35472 teaches an apparatus of the kind described above; it describes a portable medical pump wherein a winding unit is integrated for the infusion tubing. The drawback of this system is that, apart from the tubing constituting an integral part of the pump device, such system is mechanically complex and restricts the place where the winding may occur to a place near the infusion part and not anywhere on the tubing nor on just any tubing, the winding system being designed exclusively for the pump of which it is an integral part. To the user the system is not particularly flexible, since it is not possible to locate the pump unit and the winding unit apart. Therefore the unit will be very visible to the user when he wears the pump unit.